Key Factors Affecting Foreign Language Acquisition in the Classroom

Foreign Language teachers face motivational challenges that are different from the “major” subject area teachers in which learners in the FL classroom are older. Although motivation still is key in a major subject area, it doesn’t carry the same weight as that of the FL class due to students being older, and not having had the same exposure as students of English or Math perhaps, because these are subjects that are mandatory since kindergarten throughout University. Foreign language, is different, it is only required for one year, and for three if one wishes to receive a Regents Diploma. The Regents exam is usually taken in 10th grade after the students have had only three years of language study, and at the approximate age of fifteen years.
Due to the later introduction of foreign languages into the curriculum, motivation in the foreign language classroom is a key factor in facilitating success in the classroom since often times many students perceive foreign language as a subject of lesser importance.
Since foreign languages are introduced later than other subjects into the curriculum, foreign language instructors need to implement instructional strategies that will encourage and motivate language learning of a teenage population.
Every foreign language teacher should understand the importance of motivating students and enabling success in the foreign language classroom. It is imperative that the learning environment and teacher stimulate the students as much as possible, in an environment in which students are actively involved in activities that are stimulating and varied.
The above describes a classroom with a low affective filter in which research shows that higher success rates can be achieved when compared to an authoritarian teacher-centered classroom. A low affective filter, an encouraging and motivating environment that is student-centered factors that will all facilitate maximum student performance.